Many Wildcats fans thought Terrence Jones should have given Warren less space on the screen and forced him to drive, but Kentucky coach John Calipari said he had no problem with how the freshman forward defended the play.

"We told him, don't try to block it," Calipari told the Lexington Herald Leader. "Because the kid will ball fake and get you to foul. He's a 95 percent foul shooter (actually, 93.9 percent). If he's going to make a tough shot, let him make it over us."

The loss to Ole Miss is Kentucky's third in four road games in SEC play, the first two of which came at Georgia and at Alabama. Next up for the Wildcats (16-5, 4-3) is another road test at first-place Florida (17-5, 6-2), which could open a commanding lead on Kentucky with a victory on Saturday.

Although freshman-heavy Kentucky has been constructed similarly the past two years under Calipari, one of the biggest differences between last year's and this year's team has so far been its poise late in close games.

This year's Wildcats have not had such good fortune late in tight games, whether it's a result of their youth, their lack of leadership or simply bad luck.

Kentucky is 2-4 in games decided by seven or less points this year. That's likely a stat that will have to change if the Wildcats are going to accomplish their goals of winning the SEC and making a deep run in the NCAA tournament.